Canonical has announced the Ubuntu Netbook Remix, a version of Ubuntu designed for small computers with Intel's new Atom processor. These include: netbooks; (small laptops such as the Asus Eee PC), and MIDs; (small handheld computers).

We are beginning to see two interesting and related trends: quick-boot second computers within laptops and wall-wart sized, very inexpensive, Linux-based computers. The overall trend across both of these are cheap, small Linux computers built in to various other devices. How will this go, though?

Small, cheap, tough and perfect. That’s how local school districts are describing netbooks for educational use. Netbooks at APS run on Linux Ubuntu, that helps keep costs down.

Small laptops are becoming a big problem for Microsoft's Windows business.A new breed of lightweight computers called netbooks are beginning to crack the company's dominance of operating systems

Brad Linder’s liliputing.com reported last week that netbook sales were slowing, partly due to the rising tide of tablets and also because the lines are blurring between netbooks and more powerful but equally small thin and light laptops.

THERE WAS a time when the only way to really be mobile with a computer was with a laptop. Then came what were termed sub-notebooks – smaller laptops which still packed a lot of power.

The Canonical OEM team has been approached by a number of OEM’s who want to sell netbooks (small, low-cost laptops with an emphasis on the web) based on Ubuntu. Almost universally, they’ve asked for standard Ubuntu packages and updates, with an app launcher that’s more suited to new users and has the feeling of a “device” more than a PC.

Netbooks are a new category of laptop computer, defined mostly by their small size and cheap price. The category started only a year ago and has evolved drastically since. I tried the first netbook, an Asus Eee PC with a 7-inch screen and didn't like it; the keyboard and screen were much too small.

The developmental release of the beautifully "near-microscopic" Damn Small Linux 4.0 Alpha1 has been released on 17 July 2007. This is what Damn Small Linux's fans have been really longing for. Happy, no. Euphoric, yes!